Love is a One Way "Ticket"

The ladies of Nine Muses have released a new MV for “Ticket,” the lead single off of there latest mini-album Sweet Rendezvous. With a name like “Ticket” a travel theme is to be expected, and we could tell from the various teaser images of the members waiting with luggage in a train station or the individual shots that were styled like vintage travel posters, that that is what we were going to get. However, the MV was accompanied by the following blurb about the song:

“[It’s] acting as a metaphor for a new definition of love, comparing one’s feelings to a one-way ticket through the emotions of Nine Muses”

It is an interesting take on love, and something that should be kept in mind when watching the video. In it, you can see a young man enter a dark, lonely train station and purchase a ticket emblazoned with the words “One Way.” He proceeds to the platform where he encounters Nine Muses all waiting for their trains to come through. They look somewhat melancholy as they check their tickets, hopeful for a match, yet he boards the train alone. Later, Hyuna is also seen boarding the train and after it leaves Sera is shown near tears, running after the missed train.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aOq_1T8XY0&w=560&h=315]

After watching the video you see that Hyuna is also on a train alone, imagining she is with the young man, who is also alone on the train. Sera regretful, but resolute, walks away from the station, once again alone. While love being represented as a “one way ticket” can be interpreted in a variety of ways, the repetitive imagery of unaccompanied people coupled with some of the lyrics, I think of one-sided love. The man is on a train speeding away towards love, but he’s on that train alone–a pretty depressing thought, but definitely a cause for the long faces throughout the video. Sera, on the other hand, just missed the train and a shot at love. Like I said, I think this is definitely up for debate, but this is just a possible deeper meaning.

To go with the vintage feel of their teasers, the video starts with a grainy film effect, and the coloring of the video is also very sepia heavy, which gives it an old-fashioned feel. The members are styled in a very feminine manor that borders on retro without being costumey and antique suitcases are also used to compliment the theme. There is a soft-lit, hazy look to the story scenes that make it feel like a dreamy metaphor for feelings instead of what could be going on in their real lives that lead to them experiencing the feelings highlighted in the video. These aspects come together really well, but then the dance scenes are thrown in, and with it comes brighter lighting, rapid dance moves and two costumes that, for me, really detract from the video.

The costumes are supposed to give off an older feel, but are definitely relate more to airline travel than trains. Of the two, I prefer the military-esque olive green and red outfits, because they seem less out of place in the video than the brighter blue and yellow ones with the mirrored aviators. Honestly, both reminded me way too much of past SNSD performance gear (“Genie” and “Mr. Taxi”, respectively) and it was just another thing that distracted me during these parts of the video. It would have been a better choice to have one or the other, but then that cuts down on stage options, right?

I appreciate what Nine Muses tried to present with this video, but part of me is feeling like I may have missed the train on this one. What do you think?

The whole time when I was watching their MV and looked at their photos was thinking “What was the concept producer thinking!?!?!”

Their whole concept irks me because that is not Pinup Girl style. It looks like their concept designer was very confused when he/she came up with their whole imagery and style.

Anonymous

I think it’s not the costumes that strayed away with the concept but the mv. Their dance moves are based on air-control arm movements (the angular dance moves). So the mv should follow the airline travel concept, but then again maybe the company doesn’t have much budget to use airplanes so they used trains. But I’m just guessing though.

Anonymous

i felt like i was watching a snsd genie cover video…. that one girl has the exact same hair as yoona. the hat and hair sweeping down the side of her face. but the dance was cool.

Anonymous

but i like the clothes they wear when they are dressed with their luggage about to leave the country.

Anonymous

I thought that was a wasted opportunity that they didn’t use those old-timey clothes more in video. It looked good on them.

I personally think that even though they might dress like snsd in this video, I find that they look more sexier than snsd. In other words they body fit the uniform better. I think they underrated. And I freaking love this song! But for clothes, they look good in everything they wear, Of course they were all models!!!!

Anonymous

I feel sorry for Nine Muses. I think they should enact the SNSD breakup plan that seoulbeats did last year. Where they divided up the group and kept only the strongest/most useful performers. I try and like them, but it’s just not happening. And here, the way the MV was described, I was expecting something more like a ballad and sorrowful. Sadness.

Anonymous

After following the group from their Figaro days, I don’t think they have a very glaring weak member in the group with the exception of 1? member. They performed Ticket on MCountdown w/o backup vocals for the most part which was a step up from “News”. They are far from perfect but they are not a weak group.

Nine Muses + Sweetune are really turning out some awesome pop songs. Really enjoying them lately and I think, at least within the kpop sphere, they deserve a little more recognition. I’m not saying they are a ground-breaking group by any means, but man, Figaro, News, and Ticket are too legit to quit.

As for the Ticket MV, I liked it. Minus the gimmicky girls-in-uniform motif going on, I liked that it was simple, the dance was catchy and fun, and I liked that there was a random boob flame.